wrapping wood with aluminum

[m beezo]

OK guys, I know this was discussed some but I was just made aware of a program the city of St Louis has that, for lack of a better word, I would call is encouraging folks to wrap their exterior wood with aluminum coil stock. So much so that they have some financial programs that you can apply for.

So tell me again the pros and cons of this idea.

My thoughts are these.
It is a simple fix in that you are disturbing very little if you can just wrap the wood. Repairs are a different thing.
I am not a huge fan of the metal because I see it fade, get dented, and mostly I hate to see the caulking that seems to turn black or gray after a few years.
I am not a fan of the lead still being there under the aluminum. Of course if you only scrape what is loose this time there will be lead paint still there unless you are removing it all. Which most folks will not pay for.
As I think of this I also wonder if it might be something to consider as an option to a paint job. Not going to be any cheaper I am thinking by the time you bend all the metal and install it.

So is it an option to consider or not. Looking for any ideas no matter what you might think of the idea.

[Randy Bush]

Re: wrapping wood with aluminum

Personally I wrap anything I can when doing a siding job, It makes the job look freash and clean and unless you are using real dark colors the fade is not that much of a problem no worst then paint . lots of time when capping caulking can be every little if thing are tabed.,with some of the newer caulked they last a long time and stay clean looking. The bad thing is that water runns down hill, so care has to be talken like at window sills and areas like that so water does not get behind it and rot the wood. Another thing is coil stock can't be placed over treated wood with out wrapping it first with like house wrap. turns the coil stock to mush after a number of years. When I am worried about dents or don't what it to ripple I use steel coil stock ,although that does not work inall areas of the country. All in all I don't think twice about wrapping wood . I don't like painting and alot of people specialy older ones don't either. A good brake man can do wonders with coil stock. Some homes the wood gets so dry and all that it is hard to paint so you either have to replace or cap.

MHO on all this.

[m beezo]

Re: wrapping wood with aluminum

One of the things I am thinking thru is the actual cost differences between the wrapping and most painting I would do.
On almost all my jobs I have to scrape the loose paint off the wood. If the job costs are allowed I always take a sander to the scraped areas and try to feather out the old paint as well as rough up the wood a bit. I often use a 40 grit paper on a 5 inch orbital sander which is attached to a vac. Then I have to prime the areas and again if the cost allows, I do not just do a spot priming but prime all the wood to be painted. Siding is different but if it is brick mold, soffit and fascia I paint it all. Then I have to apply one coat minimum of top coat over the wood.

So is the cost difference going to be all that much different? I have to get some prices for coil stock, caulk, and soffit materials and see if I can come up with a number. When I am painting it requires scrapers, sandpaper, primer and finish coats which often means several trips up and down a ladder. So the labor may cancel out some material costs.

The other thing is I am not a great brake man. Since I do it only a few times a year I find myself really having to think about the profiles I am making and remember which way to flip stuff so it ends up right. If I did enough of it I could increase my speed and maybe make the costs comparable.

Maybe one of you guys already knows what it costs for a foot of material and labor. I am thinking I am charging about $75 per window opening, soffit and fascia around $4 a running ft. That changes some depending on how large the fascia and gable boards are, if there are open rafter tails to be painted as well as the back side of the gable board.

[Randy Bush]

Re: wrapping wood with aluminum

Although I don't do any painting for a customer, from what painters I know they charge more to paint a opening then I do to cap it in metal. Beezo you are in the right price range that is pretty much what I get. The soffit and fascia is that plus material, for 2 ft overhang , larger areas I get 2 a square foot plus material.If am capping a beam both sides 5.00 ft plus material.
These prices are manly for new work, When bidding on a remodel then soffit work is more like 12- 15 a ft with material can even be higher if soffit boards need replacing. cap work remains pretty much the same.

[tom struble]

Re: wrapping wood with aluminum

you can cap a window faster than you can paint it...usually